Q&A with Mickey Avalon at Set This Saturday, August 1

Ever the teller of cinematic stories drawn inspired by his own dark life experiences, listening to Mickey Avalon's music is like watching a movie with your eyes closed -- part Drug Store Cowboys, part Wonderland with some Boogie Nights (you know the parts), and a little Trainspotting mixed in for good measure. It's not a pretty story, but it's not one he shies away from either. Instead he plows headlong into it, confronting both past tragedies and fears of the future with equal aplomb. It seems almost as though he relishes recounting in his music tales sordid enough to make the most depraved whores blush.

Even if he doesn't share that same enthusiasm for doing it in interviews. Still, in a recent phone call with New Times from his tour bus as he hits the road, he shared with candor (and, unexpectedly, the politeness of a boy scout) his inspirations and the obstacles he faced in preparing his as-of-yet untitled sophomore release, the life changes for a street walker/urchin turned underground sensation, and even his bet on who's win in a smoke out between Snoop Dogg, Slightly Stoopid and Stephen Marley.

New Times: Let's talk about your new album. We heard you worked with Travis Barker?

Um, the album is pretty much done. It just needs to be mastered. I just did one song with Travis Barker, and hopefully it'll make it on the album, which I did about six months to a year ago, and he just finished that. It's a good song. I think I'll be performing it on tour [this summer].

What can you tell us about the album? How's it different from the first?

Whenever

people do a second album, they say, like, "Everything's bigger and

better," I think. We got like a bigger producer. We were working with

this guy named Doctor Luke, who's done a bunch of pop stuff and

whatever, but it's definitely not pop. It's, you know, like my life's

changed, and I always talk about things from personal experience. So

just 'cuz it's changed I don't talk about stuff that isn't relevant

anymore. Like 50 Cent talking about selling crack, and you know he

hasn't sold crack in 10 years 'cuz now he's a multi-millionaire, and

that's kinda silly. I don't talk about living on the streets or

anything like that.

When I wrote my first album, I didn't know

I was writing an album. I just thought I was having fun making songs

and so I hadn't really played any shows live, so I hadn't thought about

how shows would be performed or anything like that.

So if

anything, I'm more hip to how songs will be in a live setting. So

there's that and just talking about new stuff. It's still like a movie,

and all the characters are still sordid people, like hookers and drug

addicts and pimps and thieves and whatever. So it's still my shit, but

just more sonic, I guess.

Bigger and better [laughs], but the same!

So it'll still feature that edge you're known for, but you're not necessarily waiting to die anymore.

Yeah,

I mean, I think if anything it's more like, when things get better and

you get a little bread, and then sometimes that's even a little bit

scarier. I think when you're just in survival mode, you don't really

have time to think about anything fucked up. You're just running

around. And now I have a little more time on my hands -- I mean, not much

time -- but I've got a place to live and I've been doing my job for a few

years, and it's the first time I've had a job. So just, things I've

never really had in my life before.

But I made sure I leave all

of the politics out of it. I mean, politics in general, but all the

record label politics, 'cuz I know no one wants to hear about all that.

So, I mean, it definitely has the same edge.

Yeah, you

haven't led an easy life, and you put it all front and center in your

music. Is that something that's easy for you to do?

I never

really struggled with it. Sometimes when interviewers ask you about

certain things you've done, you get more uncomfortable.

So

you prefer to put these tough stories on a record than have some dick

over the phone go, "Yeah, Mickey, so tell me about the most fucked up

thing you've ever done."

It's like, if you try to come off

like perfect, people try to tear you down. But it's always been, the

easiest way for me to deal with my own shyness has been just to jump

into it. So it's always been easier to show warts and all. When you try

to hide stuff, it seems like that's when people can kinda come after

you. It seems the more you put stuff out there, people can't really do

anything, 'cuz you take the power away from them.

It's kinda

like in 8 Mile or whatever, that scene where he raps and he's just

dissin' himself, and then he's like, "Alright, well now what're you

gonna say that I didn't already say?" You know?

Well, but have you ever recorded anything, then listened to it after and been like, "Okay, what the hell did I just say?"

Uh,

yeah, that's usually if you're real fucked up or something. Yeah,

sometimes just jokes that maybe people don't really find funny. Or

like, I said before I don't like to talk about politics, but then once

I did something like, "Why would I vote for Obama, when the dope that I

smoke comes straight from Osama?" And people misinterpreted it, for one